Astrophotonics for exoplanets

Robert Harris, Ph.D.
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy

As astronomers strive to improve our understanding of the universe, we require ever more precise and versatile instruments. This need is leading to photonic technologies being adapted to astronomy applications which, when correctly used, can significantly enhance current capabilities. In this talk, I will describe the developments in photonic instrumentation in Heidelberg; a tip-tilt sensor for iLocater and an integral field unit designed for exoplanet characterisation (MCIFU). Both of these prototype instruments are small and benefit from being easy to adapt, enabling us to test new techniques as we optimise them for their final versions. I will also describe our future goals, from new device development, to the observation runs aimed at learning about how these technologies perform and how best to optimise them for the future. …

Born from the Stars

Dr. Dan Wilkins

Tuesday April 7th 2020 - 7:00 pm

Online Streaming

The Universe is big – bigger than we can often comprehend. From the extremely large galaxies, stars and planets, to the incredibly small, with intricate structure inside every atom, it has fascinating details on every scale. But where did it all come from and what will it all become in the future? Dr. Dan Wilkins (Stanford University) explains how astronomers can begin to answer some of these fundamental questions and will describe how the Universe came to be.…

Climbing the Distance Ladder

Dr. Keith Davis
Digital Visualization Theater
Jordan Hall of Science…